Staff

Staff Biographries

NPCC staff members are talented, energetic and dedicated arts professionals who are here to serve the needs of our community!

Ghena Abed

Ghena Abed (she/her) is a student at Humber College enrolled in the Child & Youth Care program. Her program has helped her develop the skills necessary to excel with children and families. She has always been passionate about arts and crafts – painting and sculpting in particular. You will often find her in clay workshops and painting classes, though her main platform is watercolour painting.

Ghena started as a placement student at NPCC in late 2023 and joined as a CSR (Customer Service Representative) momentarily after. During her time at NPCC, she broadened her knowledge of art and refined her interpersonal skills, promoting a deeper understanding of how creativity can be utilized in her interactions with children and families. She is committed to applying her learning from her program and practical experiences to make a positive impact on those she helps, integrating her love for art with her passion for helping others.

Liha (Lee-Ah) Ahmed

Liha (she/her) wears multiple crowns at NPCC as both a CSR and Children’s Art Instructor. She is a graduate of the BCYC (Honours Bachelor of Child and Youth Care) program at Humber Polytechnic’s Lakeshore Campus. She has been working with children since 2016 in various capacities. She combines the two in her work at NPCC helping young people to engage creatively and expressively without the constraints of strict technique. Liha has always loved art in a diversity of mediums such as watercolour, pastel, mixed media, and more. She has also studied and enjoyed other art forms such as musical arts, creative writing, dramatic arts and theatre, photography, and videography. She draws inspiration from the ever changing world around her and how it resonates with the beauty and soul within. As a South Asian artist, Liha has begun a journey to connect her art and her identity to express herself and the messages she believes in. She can’t wait to see where her journey takes her. 

Toia Allen-Daniels

Toia Allen-Daniel is an illustrator who specializes in painting and ink drawing, as well as digital paintings. She currently resides in Toronto, Ontario.

Toia has studied many forms of art in the Art Foundation and Visual and Digital Arts programs at Humber College, where she obtained a college certificate and diploma exploring different mediums such as drawing, painting, photography, graphic design, animation, and illustration. She recently graduated from the Design Foundation program at Humber College, with more
knowledge in visual design. She participated in various exhibitions such as the Toronto Biennial of Art show in the Art in Access exhibition at the Art Commons in 2019.

She looks forward to meeting and interacting with many creative individuals, hoping to establish long-lasting relationships!

Gabby Dayao, Customer Service Representative
 
Gabby Dayao (she/her) is a graduate of Humber’s Child & Youth Care program. While at Humber she has gained multiple experiences engaging with diverse communities. She has supported children and youth while helping them understand, learn and express their feelings guiding them to reach their potential. Gabby previously studied art and design at Mohawk College before her CYC program at Humber. During this program, Gabby has had the opportunity to learn multiple different disciplines of art and design.
 
You may have seen Gabby already around NPCC since early 2023. She first joined NPCC as a placement student, and shortly after completing her placement, she joined NPCC as a CSR (Customer Service Representative). Being at NPCC has rekindled her love for art and design. She is excited to learn and grow as part of the NPCC creative community!

Julia Farrant, Program Manager

Julia Farrant is a designer, project manager and team leader with a business development and creative concept and brand development background in marketing and communications.

She has supported the identity and growth of companies from across a number of sectors and has launched and managed programming and events for not-for-profit projects as well as construction and build projects for developers. Julia holds a degree in Design and Communications, BODC from Toronto Metropolitan University, a Creative Fashion Design Diploma from George Brown College as well as a Facility and Property Management Certification with a focus on space planning, sustainability, operations and ROI.

Julia is the winner of a number of fashion design and art direction awards including the Toronto Fashion Incubator Award, Best Collection. She has had the pleasure owning and operating a small design and sewing school for all ages and abilities in Toronto with a focus on sustainability, textile recycling and the environment. Julia has designed daywear, specialty costume, art installations and most recently through in-depth research, developed supporting clothing for children with sensory processing issues. Julia is very excited to be a part of the NPCC team.

Petra Nyendick, Executive Director
 
Originally from Toronto, Petra Nyendick moved to Indiana in 2001, living in Indianapolis and Terre Haute. After realizing the need for a commercial art gallery in Terre Haute, Petra became founding director of 333 Visual Art Gallery. The success of that gallery and attached working studio morphed into the launch of Halcyon Contemporary Art Gallery at the Sheldon Swope Art Museum. Petra’s success as owner/operator of Halcyon and director of the Swope Art Museum’s Summer Youth Art Program led to her opportunity to become Executive Director of Indiana State University’s Community School of the Arts.
 
While in Indiana, she was a member of Arts Indiana’s Regional Advisory Council, and a member of the board of directors of various arts organizations: The Terre Haute Children’s Choir, Blues at the Crossroads Festival, and Wabash Valley Art Space. At Art Spaces, Petra also served as Chair of the Site Selection and Acquisition Committee.
 
Most recently, Petra served as the Executive Director of Silence: Guelph’s Portal For Adventurous New Sound Events, an innovative arts centre dedicated to presenting diverse, challenging, sustainable and accessible art and musical practices. While in Guelph, Petra served on the Guelph Arts Council board, chairing the Communications Committee.
 
These positions are the most recent facet in a life’s work in art; a long, strong involvement in the arts as a successful artist, agent and arts organizer. She brings to the NPCC her committed vision of the guild of the creative community and its importance to society as a whole.
 
Petra received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors at York University in Toronto and a Master of Fine Arts with distinction at Indiana State University.
Alexander Robinson, Engagement Coordinator
 
Alexander Robinson (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist, podcast host, and creative strategist with a deep passion for the arts and digital media.
 
He holds a BA in Creative Advertising from Humber College and he’s an alumnus of the Remix Project’s Creative Arts Academy.
 
Alexander joins NPCC as Engagement Coordinator and looks forward to connecting with the community and amplifying the reach of the great work and programming that the organization provides. 
Matthew Summers, Customer Service Representative
 

Matthew Summers is an Illustration student at OCAD University.

Art has been a lifelong interest to Matthew and he has been drawing for as long as he can remember. He continues to practice and improve through his classes and is currently learning more about analogue and digital painting. He’s painted a few murals, one of which is in his old high school Etobicoke Collegiate Institute.

Music is another passion that was pursued in middle school with his participation in the band program where he learned to play the trumpet. As his interest in music grew he started taking piano lessons as well. However, what really captured his attention was a small music class in high school that introduced students to electronic music and production. He has continued creating music electronically outside of school and this has allowed him to draw upon many genres for inspiration for his own music. 

Matthew was introduced to NPCC when he started working as a summer camp counselor and this last summer he worked as an instructor for the summer camp. He enjoyed working at NPCC over the summer and so when the opportunity arose to continue throughout the year as  a Customer Service Representative he gladly took it.

Cory Therrien, Operations Manager
 

Cory Therrien is an administrative and marketing professional with a diverse range of professional experience in areas such as office management, purchasing, event coordination, and product and brand analysis and departmental budgeting.

Cory is a believer in life-long learning and strives to acquire new insights, knowledge and skills through her work and classes in college continuing education, art and calligraphy.

She has a Bachelor of Administrative Arts in Office and Administrative Studies and a Certificate in Marketing from Ryerson University.

Amadeus Wheesk

Amadeus (They/Them) is an Indigenous (Cree/Inuit) arts worker originally from Northern Ontario. They moved to Toronto in 2018 to attend the Technical Production for Theatre and Live Events program at Humber college and have since worked in technical production for concert tours, corporate events, and festivals. They have also worked for non profit arts organizations such as the Toronto Blues Society as an administrative assistant and the Reelworld Screen Institute as a programming coordinator and screener.

They have a strong passion for the arts, from film, music, books to all types of new media and they are always eager to experience and learn more about the art world.